Asian Lettuce Wraps (P.F. Changs copycat)

If you are looking for a quick, healthy, light and delicious summer meal, give my Asian Lettuce Wraps a try! My family loves these tasty little wraps and I enjoy making them because they are a great source of protein and veggies, but more importantly, they are also fun to eat! Who doesn’t enjoy assembling fun little wraps and being able to go back for seconds, thirds, or even fourths? I am unashamedly raising my hand now, I LOVE guilt free eating!

Ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken all taste delicious in this recipe. Experiment and play around to find your favorite meat and toppings. If you want to make your meal go farther, serving white rice on the side is an easy kid pleaser!

Rinse your lettuce. I usually use boston bibb or butter lettuce. To clean my lettuce I use a large bowl of fresh water and a few drops of my lemon essential oil and let it soak for 5-10 minutes and rinse. Lemon essential oil will help break down petrachemicals and is a great produce cleaner. Once your lettuce has soaked, rinse and pat dry or lay on a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to dry.

Brown your ground meat. Once it is cooked, remove and set it aside and then saute your onion, colored pepper, and finally garlic.

Let’s talk sauce. A handful of Asian cuisine staple ingredients and Hoisin sauce (found in the Asian aisle of your grocery store) makes this sauce a breeze to put together.

Combine. Add the sauce to the meat mixture and stir together. And if you like heat, drizzle on some more sriracha (spicy Asian chili sauce) just for an extra kick! This also is the time that I add in a can of diced up water chestnuts- just for a little crunch and fun texture.

Put it all together! Grab your lettuce and fill each leaf with a scoop of the meat mixture and sprinkle with your favorite toppings. I love mine with chopped peanuts, scallions, and grated carrot, and even some of those crunchy Asian noodle things if you have them on hand. Enjoy!

Add in optional 1 can of chopped water chestnuts. Prepare your toppings- my favorite are grated carrot, chopped peanuts, and chopped green onions. Arrange the lettuce on a platter and allow people to serve themselves by scooping meat mixture into the lettuce leaves and sprinkling with toppings. White rice makes a great side dish to serve with this meal. Enjoy!